40-year-old Matt Vinc re-signs with Buffalo Bandits for another season
Matt Vinc, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Isaiah Vazquez)
One of the few big-name UFAs left is no longer available after Matt Vinc signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bandits, the future National Lacrosse League Hall of Famer returning for a fourth year with the team.
Vinc, who was an unrestricted free agent with the ability to reject a franchise-tag offer, had been somewhat surprisingly protected during the Las Vegas Desert Dogs Expansion Draft. Players of Vinc’s age and status are rarely protected by teams going into expansion drafts due to the difficultly of re-signing them, although it has happened in the past. It was clear, the Bandits very much wanted their 40-year-old netminder back for at least one more season.
John Tavares & Matt Vinc, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Ben Green)
Last year Vinc was named the NLL’s Goaltender of the Year, his eighth time winning the honour. The Bandits, who finished first in the NLL with an impressive 14-4 regular season record, fell a series win short of claiming the NLL Cup, defeated by the Colorado Mammoth in the final.
Buffalo, who has made the NLL Cup Finals three times over the last five seasons, last took the title in 2008.
The Lax Mag also ranked Vinc as this past season’s top goaltender. Click here to see how Vinc’s award-winning season stacked up against Toronto’s Nick Rose and Colorado’s Dillon Ward.
Vinc is currently suiting up for the Peterborough Lakers in the Major Series Lacrosse playoffs. The Lakers are just a win away from booking their spot in the Mann Cup.
The Bandits’ re-signed stopper shares Peterborough’s goaltending duties with fellow Buffalo backstop, Doug Buchan, while Buffalo’s third goalie, Devlin Shanahan, is presently playing for the Nanaimo Timbermen in the Western Lacrosse Association. The T-Men also also still in the running for a Minto ticket.
Earlier this week the Bandits re-signed UFAs Kyle Buchanan & Ethan O’Connor, added former Calgary Roughnecks Cup-winning defensemen Greg Harnett, and also signed Head Coach John Tavares to a new three-year contract.
Although Vinc will again be one of this upcoming season’s oldest players, he still has a number of years to go before he catches his coach’s lengthy NLL run. Tavares, considered by most to be the greatest NLL player of all time, completed his final season in the league at the age of 46. Buffalo’s current bench boss played all 24 of his pro seasons with the Bandits.